German Braid

For the dough:

Combine sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine butter, milk and water. Heat for 2 minutes. Test with your finger; if the mixture is too hot to the touch, it will be too hot for your yeast.

Add liquid ingredients to the dry mixture. Mix. Now add the eggs and mix well. Add 6 cups of flour. This will give you a very sticky dough. Add 2 1/2 cups of flour and knead in. Knead for 5 minutes. Your dough will be still be a little sticky.

Add the oil to a bowl and roll your dough in it. Let rise for 2 hours, punch down and rise for another hour.

For the filling:

Divide your dough in half. Take one half and split it into 3 sections. You will need to roll this out in a long oval. Spread a little melted butter across the dough. You do not want too much or it will make your dough very soggy.

Mix cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg together. Now sprinkle your mixture of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg over the dough. (Don’t use too much. This mixture will make two whole braids or 6 rolled out sections.) Once you have done this, roll up the dough. Now do this two more times.

Once you have 3 pieces done, braid them together. Do the other half to the dough the same way. Tuck the ends under and let rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 28 to 30 minutes. This recipe makes two braids!

For the glaze:

Mix the melted butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together. Take a spoon and drizzle over a cooled braid. Top with pecans and 3 cherries. Serve with coffee, milk or orange juice on Christmas morning. This is AMAZING!